Residential Institutions Redress Board

Updates

This is the 8th in a series of newsletters which the Board has decided to produce to keep applicants informed from time to time as to the procedures it follows and other developments. The Board's 'Guide to Hearing Procedures' issued in April 2003 and the Board's annual report for 2003 issued to the Minister for Education and Science in April of this year. In October of this year the Board issued the second edition of its Guide to the Redress Scheme.

Christmas Opening Hours:

The Board's offices in Clonskeagh will be open until 4.00 p.m on Christmas Eve and will re-open on Thursday December 30th. The office will be closed on New Year's Day.

The Board and staff would like to take this opportunity to wish all applicants a happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. A special note of thanks is extended to all those who contributed to the establishment of the Board and who continue to help us in our attempt to provide the best possible service to all applicants.

Applications:

The Board continues to receive applications at a steady rate and has received a total of 5071 to date. The Board notifies applicants once it has received all necessary documentation in relation to their case. These notifications, known as completion letters, issue at a rate commensurate with the Board's ability to finalise applications and therefore do not always issue immediately after the Board has complied with its obligations in relation to the notification of relevant persons as outlined in the Residential Institutions Redress Act 2002 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2002. At the time of writing it can take up to 6 months for a case to be scheduled once the Board has issued a completion letter to the applicant or his/her solicitor indicating that the application is ready to proceed to hearing or settlement. This timeframe does not apply to those entitled to priority on grounds of age or medical condition.

Awards:

To date the Board has completed the process in 2397 cases. 1784 offers have been made following settlement talks and 539 awards have been made following hearings. Two applicants have rejected their awards. No award was made in one application. In applications covering 73 applicants refusals have issued for one reason or another. These applications have been refused as, on the face of the documentation, the application was outside the Boards terms of reference as laid down in the 2002 Act. In other words the applications did not relate to residential institutions as defined in the Act. These applications are determined by the Board immediately on receipt so that the applicant is informed at the earliest possible date that his/her application is outside the ambit of the redress scheme.

The average value of awards to date is €77,917.00, the smallest award being €0.00 and the largest award being €300,000.

Redress Board Bands

The breakdown of awards by Redress Band is as follows:

Redress Bands

Total Weightings for Severity of Abuse and Injury/Effects of Abuse

Award Payable by way of Redress

Number

Percentage

V

70 or more

€200,000 - €300,000

12

0.52%

IV

55 – 69

€150,000 - €200,000

66

2.84%

III

40 – 54

€100,000 - €150,000

481

20.71%

II

25 – 39

€ 50,000 - €100,000

1373

59.10%

I

Less than 25

Up to €50,000

391

16.83%

Total

2323

100%

Sittings

The Board continues to sit every day in its premises in Clonskeagh and now completes approximately 180 cases per month. It has also sat in Galway and Limerick. The Board sits for approximately one week per month in Cork and will continue to do as long as there are sufficient applications from the region.